Seasoned Southeast Asian Games campaigner Paolo Luigi Wong, the best Cordilleran amateur golfer, has been picked anew to be part of the national squad in next month’s Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Cambodia.
The National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) also announced Wong will be joined by fellow veteran campaigner Aidric Chan, Filipino American golf sensation Jaden Dumdumaya, and Filipino Briton Enrique Dimayuga.
Wong, a member of the Spartans Golf Team of San Jose State University in California competing in the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Championship, will fly from America to compete in Cambodia without making a side trip to the Philippines.
The 22-year-old Ibaloy golfer has a hectic schedule, as he is graduating this May, according to his father Danny.
The male national golf squad is expected to be a power house in the SEA Games, as Dumdumaya and Dimayuga have been storming international golf tournaments.
“We are just as excited as Jaden and Enrique in their first national team outing and we’re confident that they will blend well with Aidric and Luigi,” said national team committee chairman Rolly Romero.
Dumdumaya, 16, is a junior at the De La Salle High School in Concord, California while Dimayuga, 21, is on his senior season as a mainstay of the University of Arkansas.
The female national squad, meanwhile, will have Rianne Malixi as the newest and youngest member.
Malixi is now among the world’s elite in junior play and has the reputation to tame even seasoned professional golfers during tournaments.
Lois Kaye Go and the fast-rising Mafy Singson are in a mission to better their showing of a bronze medal finish in the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam.
The golf competitions of the 32nd SEA Games will be played at the Garden City Golf Club from May 8 to 13. – Harley F. Palangchao
